Liturgical robe

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Thuriferar in choral clothing

Liturgical vestments are items of clothing worn during a Christian service by the leader of the celebration, concelebrating and assisting clergy, and the liturgical services .

historical development

Early Christianity had no special liturgical clothing for the Sunday Lord's Supper , but expected all participants to be dressed as festively as possible. Bishops and priests have dressed in the style of Roman officials since the legitimation of the Christian religion in the 4th century, without initially distinguishing between everyday and liturgical clothing.

With the growth of parishes, the publicity of church buildings and worship services, and the elevation of Christianity to the state religion in the Roman Empire in 380 , the liturgy became increasingly representative. This also included the increased costliness of the robes. Until the time of the Great Migration , however, there was no sharp separation between liturgical vestments and everyday Roman clothing ( tunic , paenula ).

The invading Teutons brought their clothes with them to the western Mediterranean: trousers , shirts and doublets . This also prevailed among the Romansh population - but not in the liturgy. Since late antiquity , the paraments have basically remained the same, but have been influenced by fashions. In the years that followed, they were often made from precious fabrics ( velvet , brocade or damask ) and precious materials such as silk and shortened their length. Compared to the rich folds of the late antique outer garments, the dalmatic and the chasuble in the western liturgy now made a rather stiff, but consistently solemn impression.

The Protestant churches of the Reformation declared liturgical vestments to be “ adiaphora ”, ie matters that can be handled differently in the church. Martin Luther, for example, wore alb, stole and chasuble at the Lord's Supper service until his death . This was maintained in the Lutheran tradition in many countries. As a rule, the Protestant Reformed churches did without special liturgical clothing.

In Germany it came through the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. to a special development. In 1811 he made it compulsory for all Lutheran, Reformed and Uniate pastors (and from 1817 for rabbis ) to wear the black gown in church services. As a result, the gown also gained acceptance in other regional Protestant churches.

Liturgical clothing in the various denominations

Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic churches

Orthodox bishop with staff and Stephanos (miter). Visible here include the epimanikia
Orthodox priest with a red phelonion and the hanging Epitrachelion
Russian Orthodox priests and deacons

In the Byzantine rite of the Orthodox and Roman churches , the following liturgical vestments are in use:

  • Priest :
    • Sticharion
    • Epimanics
    • Epitrachelion
    • Zone (belt)
    • Phelonion
    • Pectorals
    • Kamilavkion (some decorations)
    • Nabedrennik (Award in Russia)
    • Epigonation (with an archpriest)
    • Stephanos (miter) (for archimandrites: with a lying cross on top)
    • Cross staff (in archimandrites, as in bishops)

Roman Catholic Church

The following liturgical vestments are used in the Roman rite :

Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller with miter , staff , pectoral and ring
  • The alb (from Latin albus "white") is the basic liturgical garment. It is basically ankle-length and is reminiscent of the baptismal robe and the white robes of the Revelation of John . Everyone who performs a liturgical service at the altar can or should wear albums or garments derived from the alb (e.g. a choir shirt over the gown ).
  • The cingulum is a cord that gathers the alb as a belt (shape: ribbon-like or cord-like, usually provided with tassels at the edge); Zingula are also worn by clerics over cassocks as a wide band of fabric in different colors of rank .
  • The amikt (also called humerale or shawl) is a square shawl that is worn around the shoulders under the alb.
  • The stole , a shawl-like garment about knee-length on both sides, is the insignia of the priestly office . Bishops, priests and deacons wear them at all sacraments , word services , devotions and acts of blessing that they lead or with which they assist, under certain circumstances (e.g. at the bedside) directly over their everyday clothes or the alb, at mass usually under the chasuble. Before the liturgical reform , the stole was crossed in front of the chest by the priest, and the bishop always wore it in its current form. The deacon's stole is worn diagonally across the chest and back and rests on the left shoulder. The stole is interpreted as the “yoke of Christ”, cf. Mt. Mt11,29.
  • The chasuble (from Latin casula "tent", "little house"), also called chasuble , is interpreted as a reminder of the tent sanctuary that the Israelites carried with them on their desert wandering (cf. Exodus 33: 7) and comes from the Roman paenula . It is a sleeveless cape with a neckline, usually in the liturgical color of the day or occasion, often exquisitely embroidered. In contrast to the church of the first millennium, the chasuble is now almost only used to celebrate Holy Mass (one of the few exceptions is the celebration of the Passion and Death of Christ on Good Friday ).
  • The dalmatic (Latin dalmatica , originating from Dalmatia ) is the festively decorated, now short-sleeved, upper garment of the deacon, originally made of Dalmatian wool, with wide sleeves and decorative stripes (Latin clavi ), which is particularly worn at high mass . The dalmatic can also be worn by the bishop under the chasuble to show that he has the fullness of the ordination office.
  • The cassock is an extra-liturgical piece of clothing that emerged from the black, ankle-length everyday clothing of the clergy , which has been in use since the Middle Ages and has become a class costume. A choir shirt or a Rochett is worn over it at church services.
  • The choir shirt , also known as a choir skirt, is a hip or knee-length white, often pleated, upper garment that is derived from the alb. It is worn over the gown or cassock. The priest wears a cassock, choir shirt and stole at services without the Eucharist or at masses in which he is neither celebrant nor concelebrant . Gown and choir shirt are the most common altar boys' attire. In contrast to Rochett , the choir shirt has a slightly wider cut on the sleeves. Rochett is traditionally used to describe the choir shirt of higher clergymen ( prelates ) with tight-fitting sleeves that are often decorated (lace, ruffles). However, it is common to refer to the choir shirt as "Rochett".
  • The mozetta bear all who have the appropriate privilege on cap and surplice or Rochett. It is a shoulder cape that is closed at the front by a row of buttons. For canons and cathedral vicars it is black, for cathedral capitulars it is often purple, for bishops it is always purple, and for cardinals it is red. The Pope also wears a red Mozetta (in the fifty days of Easter since Pope Benedict XVI, however, a white one, based on an earlier custom of the Popes up to Pope Paul VI , which, however, was limited to the Easter octave before its reintroduction .).
  • In some places the altar servers also wear a mozetta in the liturgical colors over the choir shirt (Rochett).
  • The choir cloak (also called Vesper cloak, also called smoke cloak or Latin cope - "raincoat") is an upper garment derived from the chasuble. B. at devotions, processions and funeral ceremonies, is used.
  • The maniple is an embroidered strip of fabric worn over the left hand by all holders of major ordinations (i.e. from the subdiaconate ) before the liturgical reform .
  • The rationale is nowadays only by the bishops of Paderborn , Krakow , Eichstaett and Toul worn. The rational came up in the 11th century and is reminiscent of the high priestly insignia of the ephod . It consists of a sheet of cloth that covers the upper half of the chest and back.
  • The miter is worn by all bishops, as well as by other authorized clergy, especially abbots (so-called infulized abbots). It is a headgear tapering to two points, which has been documented since the 10th century. Since the Renaissance , the miter has grown in height, while its current shape resembles that of the 13th century.
  • The pallium is a white woolen ribbon with six black crosses that is placed over the shoulders and symbolizes the full papal power ( plenitudo potestatis ) . The Pope gives it to the Metropolitan Archbishops as a symbol of participation in pastoral power. When moving to another metropolitan seat , the archbishop concerned must ask the Pope for a new pallium.
  • The fanon , also known as the Orale , a shawl between the alb and the chasuble, is a liturgical garment reserved for the Popes and has fallen out of use.
  • The subcinctorium is an ornament that is no longer in use today and is reserved for the popes in the form of a strip of fabric on the cingulum.
  • The velum is a cloth to cover the hands, e.g. B. when wearing the monstrance or when holding the miter and bishop's staff by signiferi .
  • The biretta is part of the clergy's dress ( cassock ) and is not a liturgical head covering. In the past, it was mandatory to wear it when the priest moved in and left.
  • The tiara was also only worn by the popes for entry and exit at the solemn papal mass, as well as for some acts of blessing, such as the granting of the blessing Urbi et orbi . Pope Paul VI has taken off the tiara. No pope has been crowned with the tiara since then.
  • The gremiale is a kind of apron used to protect the liturgical vestments during anointing with oil.
Acolytes
  • Alb with or without cingulate or
  • Gown and choir shirt (the color of the gown can change according to the liturgical order: black is common; red, violet, green and blue - on Marian feasts - are also possible, as are shoulder collars with matching colors.)

As a result of the liturgical movement in the Catholic Church, old sewing patterns were rediscovered and reintroduced. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council states:

"124. In promoting and cultivating truly sacred art, the ordinaries may be more concerned with noble beauty than with mere effort. This also applies to the holy robes and the furnishings of the holy places. [...] "

- Sacrosanctum Concilium

Protestant churches

Ordination in the Church of Sweden
Pernille Vigsø Bagge, Danish pastor and politician

Due to the classification of liturgical clothing as adiaphora, there is no uniform picture in this regard in worldwide Protestantism. While traditional vestments are often still in use in Scandinavian Lutheranism, gowns and civilian clothing have become more prevalent in the churches that emerged from missions in the 19th century. In Germany, the Prussian gown decree of 1811 continues to shape the style on the Protestant side.

In the Protestant churches in Canada and the United States of America , it is rather rare for liturgical robes to be worn during church services . Almost all Lutheran churches are exceptions to this.

Lutheran, Reformed and United Churches in Germany

Gown with a cup of the uniate
  • The black gown with beffs is mainly worn.
  • The cup consists of two white strips of fabric that are sewn together in Lutheran churches, half in uniate and completely sewn together in reformed churches.
  • In the Hanseatic cities, a gown with a ruff is worn.
  • In many regional churches it is permitted to wear black gowns and stoles, sometimes with and sometimes without a small beef.
  • In the meantime, the regional church regulations often also allow alb with stole as an alternative. However, this is only used sporadically, albeit with an upward trend.

Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK)

Bishop Hans-Jörg Voigt

In the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church the following liturgical garments are in use and covered by the church regulations:

  • For the ordained pastor:
  • Alba with stole according to the church season or the feast day
  • Alba with stole and chasuble according to the church season or the feast day. The chasuble is worn by the pastor exclusively for the Lutheran mass.
  • black gown with choir shirt and stole
  • black gown and stole
  • black gown and Lutheran beef
  • The beret is mandatory outside of closed rooms
  • For the vicar:
  • Alba without a stole
  • black gown with choir shirt without stole
  • black gown and Lutheran beef
  • For the parish deacon:
  • Alba with cross stole and dalmatic
  • black gown and cross stole
  • black robe and monkey
  • For the pastoral officer
  • Alba (without official insignia)
  • black gown (without official insignia)
  • black gown with choir shirt (Rochett)
  • For the acolytes:
  • Alba with or without a cingulum
  • Altar robe with choir shirt
  • Altar robe with choir shirt and collar
  • Altarpiece with choir shirt and Mozetta

Evangelical Free Churches

In congregational embossed Free Churches the use of liturgical vestments is rare. However, they usually value clothing that is appropriate to the special meaning of the worship service. In the Evangelical Free Churches, for example, the pastor and deacons at the sacrament table were dominated by the black suit as "official clothing" until the 1980s. Today a uniform style can no longer be made out. Many pastors prefer a special baptismal salar for baptismal services in which the Evangelical Free Church pastor stands with the person to be baptized in the baptistery or in the baptismal water. It differs from other worship salars. A V-neckline and a white tie replace the little cup of the regional church pastors. A lead band is inserted in its hem to weigh down the robe.

Even at funeral services , free church pastors often wear a gown to differentiate themselves from so-called funeral orators.

Religious and ceremonial robes outside of Christianity

Even in shamanism , special garments are used in cult rituals that make the special role of the shaman visible.

The priests at the Jerusalem Temple had detailed prescribed worship robes. There are different official costumes for today's synagogue service ; it can also be celebrated without special clothing. A ritual garment is the prayer shawl ( tallit ), which is worn by all prayers in the synagogue as well as during private morning prayers.

The prayer leader ( imam ) in Islam does not wear special clothing during mosque services .

See also

literature

  • Joseph Braun : The Liturgical Paraments in the Present and Past. Reprographic reprint of the second, improved edition, publisher nova & vetera, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-936741-07-7 , pp. 127-134 (1st edition: 1911, 2nd edition: 1924).
  • Evangelically wealthy. Catalog for the exhibition with worship robes and official costumes. Divine service institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Nuremberg 2007.
  • Jens D. Haverland: "Honey, what should I wear?" Liturgical robes in Protestant worship. Grin-Verlag, Munich a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-3-640-28756-7 .
  • Arthur Carl Piepkorn: The liturgical vestments in the Lutheran Church since 1555. Translated and edited by Jobst Schöne and Ernst Seybold. 2nd Edition. Oekumenischer Verlag Edel, Lüdenscheid / Lobetal 1987, ISBN 3-87598-032-8 ( Ecumenical texts and studies, 32).
  • Nicodemus C. Schnabel: The liturgical vestments and insignia of the deacon, presbyter and bishop in the churches of the Byzantine rite. Echter, Würzburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-429-03002-5 .

Web links

Commons : Liturgical Vestments  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ orthodoxwiki.org
  3. ↑ AEM, 301.
  4. ↑ Sacrosanctum Concilium ("Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy").
  5. ↑ Parament workshop. Retrieved December 18, 2019 .